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Chapter 573: Chapter 573: Returning Home
After dinner, Si Chen helped Tong Yao wash dirty clothes and shoes, while Han Enzhen assisted Guo Jinnian washing clothes and shoes.
She comes from a wealthy family, a lady of high status who had people taking care of her since childhood. It wasn’t until she went abroad that she began to become independent.
Now, it was her first time taking care of others and washing clothes for them, but she didn’t express any complaints.
After going abroad, she lost contact with her close friends back home.
She hasn’t made any close friends here either, spending these years mostly alone. Now, in times of danger with Tong Yao and Guo Jinnian, she realized they were worthwhile friends to confide in.
So, she was quite willing to take care of Guo Jinnian, after all, she had promised to look after her when she arrived at the hospital.
They stayed at the hospital for two days until the flood receded somewhat.
Fu Yiheng couldn’t wait and promptly returned to the dormitory, fetching his camera. He took several group photos and quite a lot with Tong Yao, Guo Jinnian, and Han Enzhen in the hospital and outside of it.
Girls like taking photos, and nothing, not even the lack of beautification tools, could stop their innate proclivity towards it.
As luck would have it, Fu Yiheng also loved taking photos. He took many photographs of Tong Yao, Guo Jinnian, and Han Enzhen until he ran out of film.
By the third day, the floodwater on the streets had almost dried up, and the academy announced that classes would only resume a week later.
Upon receiving the news, they processed Guo Jinnian’s discharge from the hospital.
The five of them, holding their visas and passports, returned to Kyoto together.
Arriving in Kyoto late at night, they didn’t expect to run into Gu Hongwei at the airport exit.
Guo Jinnian was the most stunned, seeing Gu Hongwei was like seeing a ghost, "Gu Hongwei, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you guessed we would return today?"
The moment Guo Jinnian set foot on his homeland, he was ecstatic beyond belief. He felt indescribably comforted upon seeing familiar faces, even finding Gu Hongwei much more agreeable to the eyes than before.
Gu Hongwei felt a burden lift off his heart upon seeing them return safe and sound.
"It’s good you’re back, I’ve been worried about you ever since I saw the news. Flights to Country M have just resumed, so I thought I’d try my luck here." he said, his gaze then falling on Guo Jinnian’s injured arm, raising an eyebrow as he asked, "You got hurt?"
Even though he had always been at odds with Guo Jinnian, they were still friends, so he couldn’t help showing concern when he saw her injured.
"Just a broken arm, just a minor injury. It’ll heal in a month or two."
Guo Jinnian was in a good mood, unbothered by her injury. Her arm had stopped hurting in the last few days, and she felt as though she were brimming with energy.
Gu Hongwei frowned, guessing that they must have gone through some experiences during this time.
But now they were at the airport, and it wasn’t the time to pry into these matters.
Si Chen introduced Fu Yiheng and Gu Hongwei to each other.
Tong Yao introduced Han Enzhen.
After everyone got acquainted, they all headed back to the Tong Family home. On the way, Tong Yao inquired about the condition of Tong Yaohui and Wen Yun.
"Do my parents know about the flood in F City? Have they been worried sick?"
Gu Hongwei replied, "I didn’t tell them, to spare them the worry. I just told them that you called and everything was fine and that you’d be returning in a few days. Perhaps you could call them tomorrow."
Tong Yao breathed a sigh of relief, her restless heart finally calming down.
Si Chen then said, "Thank you."
Gu Hongwei replied in a low voice, "Chen brother, you’re too polite."
Since it was already after midnight, they all ended up spending the night at the Tong Family home, men sleeping on the sofa in the living room and women in the bedrooms.
The next day, they all slept in until late. By the time Tong Yao woke up, Si Chen had already called Tong Yaohui. Tong Yao also made a call.
Hearing Tong Yao’s voice, Wen Yun’s eyes immediately teared up, "It’s good that you’re back. They all said you were fine, but with such a big flood in F City, I’ve been having nightmares. I wasn’t at ease until I heard your voice. You’re pregnant now, please don’t run around so much in the future."
Tong Yao answered in a soft voice, "Mom, don’t worry, I’m fine. We will rest today and visit you and Dad tomorrow."
Wen Yun acknowledged her words, then began to complain, "Your father is not at all worried. He went fishing as soon as he heard from Xiaochen that you were fine. He even said I like to worry unnecessarily. Indeed, only the one who gives birth can truly worry for their child."
Knowing that Wen Yun was just venting, Tong Yao didn’t take it to heart. After talking for a while, Tong Yao was about to hang up, but Wen Yun started talking about the mute girl.
"Yaoyao, you spoke of a girl. She has already been brought here. She’s diligent, but communicates poorly since we can’t understand sign language."
Only then did Tong Yao remember the mute girl. She thought for a moment and said, "Mom, I’ll bring a sign language book tomorrow when I come over! You can look at it when you’re free. It will be more convenient to communicate with her. That girl is very pitiful; she has no relatives and is always bullied."
Wen Yun sighed, "Indeed, who would say otherwise? When the police brought her, they told us about her story alone. She truly is pitiful. But now that she’s here, we won’t mistreat her, even if we can’t provide a luxurious life for her. Jian Jun and the other guy are both very kind and take good care of her."
Tong Yao laughed, "That’s good. I was worried that they wouldn’t get along. I didn’t expect them to adapt well."
But it made sense when she thought about it. There were so many poor people these days. To have a job that provided enough to eat and drink and where there was no fear of being cheated was a dream for many.
After chatting briefly, Tong Yao hung up the phone.
At noon, the nanny came over and prepared a large table of dishes, which they devoured happily.
Han Enzhen and Fu Yiheng bid their farewell reluctantly.
Seeing their dramatic goodbyes, Guo Jinnian sneered, "Enough with the drama. Kyoto isn’t that big. You can come and see each other any time. Why are you acting as if you’re parting forever?"
Having been exposed by Guo Jinnian, Fu Yiheng and Han Enzhen stopped the theatrics, bid a straightforward goodbye, and each went their way.
In the afternoon, Si Chen stayed at home with Tong Yao to rest.
Gu Hongwei accompanied Guo Jinnian to the hospital to follow-up on her arm. The results were similar to that of the overseas hospital; she just needed to rest for a while.
Looking at the plaster on Guo Jinnian’s arm, Gu Hongwei felt uncomfortable. They’d barely gone on a trip abroad and the girls almost lost their lives. He wondered which one of them had ill luck.
They exited the hospital. Gu Hongwei intended to take the bus back to the Tong Family home, but Guo Jinnian wanted to get her hair cut.
"My hair is almost covering my ears, making me look like a girl. I’m going to get it cut."
